Militants launch attack on Afghan airport

Gunmen have launched a pre-dawn attack on Kabul International Airport in the Afghan capital, raining down rockets, setting off a gunbattle with security forces and forcing the airport to close for hours.

The militants occupied two buildings which were under construction some 700 metres north of the facility, and were using them as a base to direct rockets and gunfire toward the airport and international jet fighters flying over Kabul, said Afghan army spokesman Afzal Aman.